The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories: Part VI—2017 Annual

The traditional pastiche is alive and well, as shown by the 35 Sherlock Holmes stories in Marcum’s excellent sixth all-original anthology (after 2016’s The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories: Part V—Christmas Adventures). This volume showcases talented, lesser-known authors who offer a wide variety of mysteries for Holmes to solve, including a classic locked-room murder (David Friend’s “The Adventure of the Apologetic Assassin”) and a genuine rarity, a whydunit in which the killer’s identity is never in question but his motive is (Jennifer Copping’s “The Adventure of the Vanishing Apprentice”). David Timson’s “The Adventure of the Wonderful Toy” makes especially creative use of Thomas Edison’s invention of the phonograph, which is used as a tool for extortion. Many entries manage to craft baffling mysteries that don’t involve crimes of violence, and others offer ingenious extrapolations from Watson’s cryptic references to untold cases, such as Hugh Ashton’s “The Adventure of the Returned Captain,” a take on “the loss of the British barque Sophy Anderson.” This is a must-have for all Sherlockians. (May)